The Iron Giant (character)
The Iron Giant is a large 50 foot robot of alien origin, and the deuteragonist of the film with the same name, adapted from the original novel by Ted Hughes, The Iron Man. Though built as a weapon, the Giant's crash landing on Earth reset his programming, leaving him with a childlike sense of wonder. The dent on his head is an indicator of this. The Giant is well-armed but will only use his weapons in self-defense, is capable of flight and can also repair himself via a homing beacon in his head. The Iron Giant has eyes that glow and can change to red when threatened or angry and parts that transform and reassemble. He is also indestructible to virtually anything. The Iron Giant's diet consists only of metal. History In 1957, the Giant came to Earth and crash-landed off the coast of Rockwell, Maine. After terrifying a fisherman by the name of Earl Stutz while Earl was trying to find the lighthouse, who called the government upon his return to land, the Giant wandered into the town's nearby woodlands after eating a few vehicles, and set his sights upon devouring a power station. He would have been shocked to death had nine year old Hogarth Hughes not been tracking down who ate their TV antenna and shut the power down. The Giant continued to eat local pieces of machinery and later re-encountered Hogarth, befriends him and then proceeds to follow him home. The Giant was seen by one of the train's engineers Frank Thomas after the train hit the Iron Giant, who was trying to fix the railroad tracks that he was trying to eat earlier. This led to him being hunted down by an obsessive and paranoid federal government agent named Kent Mansley, after following the train engineers's suggestion on where to find a phone. Kent leaves only to figure out that the BB gun that he was in possession of was Hogarths since Hog Hug was the only thing left of Hogarth's name on the gun. To try to get Hogarth to tell Kent about the whereabouts of the Giant, Kent rented the room that was for rent at the Hughes's residence until he can have information and evidence about the Giant. Slowly, the Giant began to learn, through Hogarth's teachings, how to speak, about right and wrong, life and death and some elements of culture, specifically Superman, who Hogarth thought the Giant could relate to since Superman crash landed on Earth and had to learn everything. After relocating the Giant to a Junkyard owned by beatnik artist named Dean McCoppin, Hogarth spent much of his days having fun with the Giant. Mansley called the army and General Rogard in after finding out the Giant's whereabouts while Kent interrogated Hogarth about where the Giant was, but Hogarth and Dean were quickly able to disguise the Giant as one of Dean's art projects. A short time after, the Giant's automatic defense mechanisms activated when Hogarth pointed a toy gun at him pretending he was the evil robot Atomo, and Hogarth was almost killed by the Giant's eye beams. The Giant didn't seem to understand what he was doing. Dean was quick to dismiss the Giant, calling him 'a big gun' and ignoring the Giant's stammered protests of 'No, I not gun.' After Hogarth left in pursuit, Dean noticed Hogarth's gun, realized why the Giant had attacked, and went to help. Unfortunately, Mansley spotted the Giant rescuing two boys in danger and ordered that the army attack immediately. The Giant and Hogarth fled, resorting to flight after falling off a cliff, but in one of the attacks Hogarth was knocked unconscious after the Giant was hit by a jet. The Giant thought Hogarth was dead since Hogarth wasn't moving or responding and was distraught. When the army fired again, the Giant snapped, activating as many weapons as possible, seeming to relinquish his gentle nature and firing upon the army. The only available option was to fire a nuclear missile from the USS Nautilus according to Rogard and Mansley. Before it could be fired, Hogarth recovered and confronted the Giant. The Giant recognized his friend and returned to normal after Hogarth told the Giant that he didn't have to be a gun, and instead that he had to choose. Mansley ordered that the missile be fired anyway, ignoring the fact that it was targeted on the Giant and thus everyone in Rockwell would be killed as Kent tries to escape Rockwell to save himself, but the Giant stops him and allows Rogard and his soldiers to arrest Kent for his actions. Hogarth explained to the Giant that when the missle hit, everyone was going to die. A saddened Giant looked upon the missile and made his decision by saying "I fix." After telling Hogarth 'you stay, I go, no following', mirroring one of the first things Hogarth said to him, he took off into space, heading straight for the missile. Bracing himself for impact, Hogarth's words of 'you are who you choose to be' rang though the Giant's head, and he said his decision to himself before the crash: 'Superman.' Some time later, Dean (now Hogarth's stepfather) had built a statue in the Giant's memory, which was erected in town, and Hogarth received a package from General Rogard which was the jaw bolt from the Giant, the only part the army could find. That night however, the bolt began tapping against the window as though trying to get out. Remembering that the Giant was self-repairing and is not dead, Hogarth let it go free, saying 'see you later.' The Giant's parts were converging upon a glacier in Iceland, where the Giant's head, still active and smiling, was waiting. Personality Trivia The specific creator of the giant is never revealed and unknown. The only hint comes in the opening sequence, specifically that the giant comes from somewhere beyond the Earth's moon. It can also be inferred from his weapons that the giant was sent to earth for unpeaceful purposes. (Note: From a deleted scene from the film, he has a brief vision of robots similar to him destroying a different planet, which can suggest that the giant's original objective was to destroy Earth.) He is voiced by Vin Diesel with some computer effects added; other actors such as Sean Connery, Frank Welker and James Earl Jones were also considered to do the voice. Memorable quotes *"I am not a gun." *"Souls don't die..." *"I not Atomo... I Superman." *"Hogarth, you stay... I go... no following." *"I... fix." *''(Last word)'' "Superman..." Gallery Iron Giant Picture Gallery - Iron Giant (Character)/Gallery Category:Characters